Garlic Sauce Chicken Thighs
Updated May 22, 2023
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This tasty and simple recipe for garlic sauce chicken thighs is made with bone-in chicken thighs, pan-seared to perfection, and served with a great garlic and wine sauce.
Pan-Seared Bone-In Chicken Thighs
As passionate food lovers, we adore a good chicken dish, but this pan seared bone in chicken holds a special place. It has rightly earned its title as our most cherished chicken recipe, now and for eternity. Indeed, it’s a culinary blessing worthy of an ‘Amen.’ 🙏
This recipe is all about juicy, bone-in chicken simmered in the most flavorful garlicky sauce, and it’s all made right on the stovetop. It’s cozy, bold, and seriously dang delicious. If you’ve been on the hunt for the perfect stovetop chicken dinner, you have to try this one.
Why do we hold such a confident promise for this recipe? Just take a glance at the glowing reviews in the comments section below. They provide a testament to the deliciousness of this recipe, filled with satisfied home cooks who’ve experienced the wonderful flavors this bone-in chicken recipe has to offer. 😉 OR, serve them this Garlic Yogurt Baked Chicken, which is also ah.may.zing!
I also served some of those Spinach and Artichoke Dip Pizza, aaaaand Lemon Cheesecake Crescent Rolls. We LOVED all of it!
How To Cook Bone-in Chicken Thighs
- Heat. Warm the vegetable oil and melt the butter in a deep, large skillet over medium heat.
- Season & Sear. While the pan heats up, season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Add them to the skillet and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes per side, until browned. Remove the chicken and set it aside.
- Sauté. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring often—just be careful not to burn it.
- Deglaze. Pour in the wine and scrape up all those golden bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. That’s where the flavor lives!
- Simmer. Stir in the rosemary and parsley, then return the chicken to the skillet. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Serve. Take the skillet off the heat, spoon that garlicky sauce over the chicken, and serve it up!
Katerina’s Recipe Tips
- No alcohol option. If you don’t have white wine on hand, you can use chicken broth with a splash of lemon juice instead. It still gives you that brightness and helps deglaze the pan.
- Garlic. Feel free to use more garlic if you want, but not less than what I’ve recommended. 🙃
- Wine options. Also, bring out the best white wine you have, as this chicken is all about the garlic and the wine; they go hand in hand. It’s like garlic-infused-wine-chicken-something. It’s delicious. I like to use Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Chardonnay.
- Cooking pan. Use a deep skillet large enough to fit 4 chicken thighs without crowding the pan.
- Skin on chicken. Always start by cooking the skin first, then flip it over and brown the other side.
- Patience. Please do not move the chicken around while it’s cooking; flip it when there is little to no resistance. If you feel like the chicken is stuck to the pan, don’t force it. Give it a minute or two, and then flip it over.
What To Serve With Chicken Thighs
When I serve these juicy chicken thighs, I love to pair them with my creamy garlic mashed potatoes because they soak up that garlicky sauce and taste amazing. As for veggies, you can’t go wrong with a serving of garlic parmesan roasted vegetables, but if you’re in the mood for something lighter, skillet zucchini and mushrooms is a fresh, savory side that works beautifully with the chicken. And for a cozy option, cheesy potatoes are always an option.
So, if you’re ready to try out a dish that’s got an army of food lovers behind it, give this pan seared chicken recipe a whirl. With every bite, you’ll understand why it has taken a permanent place at the top of our favorite chicken recipes list.
ENJOY!
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Garlic Sauce Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 pounds bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 whole bulb garlic, peeled, cloves separated
- 1 cup dry white wine, use a wine that you like
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Heat oil and butter in a large skillet.
- Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and transfer them to the skillet.
- Cooking over medium heat, brown the chicken on both sides; about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside.
- Add garlic cloves to the skillet and cook, frequently stirring, until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Do not burn the garlic. Carefully add wine to the skillet.
- Stir in the parsley and add a sprig of rosemary; continue to stir and scrape all the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet.
- Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, turning the chicken over halfway through cooking. Add a couple of tablespoons of wine – you can also use chicken broth – if it looks too dry when you turn over the chicken.
- Remove from heat; transfer the chicken to a serving dish, and spoon the garlic sauce over the chicken. Serve.
Notes
- Feel free to add extra garlic, but not less than suggested. This dish hinges on garlic and good white wine, a match made in culinary heaven.
- Use a skillet that comfortably holds four chicken thighs. Start by cooking the skin-side first, then flip to brown the other side. Avoid moving the chicken while cooking; flip it only when it releases easily from the pan. If it sticks, wait a minute or two, then try flipping again.
- Serve this chicken with a side of vegetables and/or pasta.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep them refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
This is such a wow of a recipe! I’m not waiting for company to make this – making it asap! Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi
The garlic cloves … Do you slice them or throw in whole? And if you add mushrooms whe would you add these? Could I also add onions to this? Thanks
Hi Vee!
Use whole cloves, but you can also slice them in half, if you want to.
You can add the onions together with the garlic, maybe even a minute before adding in the garlic. (see step 5 in the recipe)
I would add the mushrooms when returning the browned chicken to the skillet. (see step 8 in the recipe)
Hope that helps!
I made this chicken last week and it was amazing! It loved that it was simple and didn’t have a lot of ingredients but there was such a great depth of flavor. I will be making this time and time again!
Would love to make this, but kids do not like chicken pieces.. Only Breasts!
Can I use chicken breasts and how would I cook?
Thank you!
Hi Josephine! You can definitely use chicken breasts and just follow the recipe as is.
So to avoid overcooking, I would start checking the chicken breasts around the 15-minute mark, after you’ve put the lid on the pan. If you have a meat thermometer, use that to see if chicken is done. Thermometer should read about 170F. I hope this helps!
So are they boneless or bone-in thighs? In one comment it says you bought boneless, and in another it says you used bone-in (because your mom said 🙂 ). Just wondering which is better to use, and the cook time usually varies. Thanks!!
Hi Jill! I am pretty sure this was with boneless thighs, but I may have answered otherwise because I get the same question repeatedly on another recipe where I did use bone-in… I may have answered it thinking it was the other recipe. Big OOPS! My apologies, please!
I think bone-in is always tastier, but boneless is easier to eat. 🙂 I use Perdue’s suggestions on how long to cook chicken and chicken parts. With bone-in, they suggest about 2 to 3 minutes longer.
I made this today and it was delicious! Loved the sauce! I added a red bell pepper, mushrooms and Casareccia pasta to finish it off. Oh, and some chili fakes to give it a bit more flavour.
This looks absolutely wonderful! Just a few questions though. If you bought skinless boneless thighs, did you cut the bones out? The picture almost looks like you de-boned the chicken and cut it up into large pieces. Also, Do you think I could add button mushrooms in the last few minutes of cooking? Finally, what would you recommend serving it with? I think green beans would be delicious but I can’t decide between mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, or rice!
Again, thank you so much for this recipe. I LOVE garlic, cooking with wine, rosemary, and chicken thighs (it’s like this recipe was meant for me). Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Ellie!!
I bought and used boneless thighs for the recipe. They come 6 in a package, usually. You can absolutely add some mushrooms. In fact, my husband likes this with mushrooms so I can definitely tell you that it tastes great with them. I would serve it with roasted potatoes! YUM! Let me know how it all turns out! 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Katerina, from the picture, it looks as if you cooked the chicken with the skins on. Yes? I’m trying this tomorrow night. Thanks!!!
Hi Patty!! Yes, I did leave the skins on. It’s delicious! Enjoy! :))
So Yummy. I had to change a few ingredients due to a snow storm. I used tarragon instead of the Rosemary. Also added 2 tablespoons of butter and half a lemon. Butter made a silky sauce. Such a good recipe. Thanks
WOWZA!! THIS LOOKS DELICIOUS! CAN’T WAIT TO TRY 🙂